Secrets, Humor, and College Life
by Duel Mistress K
Summary: (Armada) My own human fic! gasp OO;; don't look at it! it's confusing! But believe me, it WILL make sense as the fic goes on! I promise! ...the next worst update in the world is here! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! (But R&R too!)
1. Friendships and Introductions

DMK: AAAAH! I've succumb to the myriad fanfic writers and have started my own Human fic! 

All Tformers present: NOOOOOOOO!!!

DMK: I know! But it'll be cool! I promise! And I'll…never get it done. Just like every other chapter in my fanfics….v_v;;; *sigh* ah well, read on. 

***********

Chapter One

            Kay walked into the huge lecture hall, holding her single notebook to her chest. Sure, she was a crisp twenty-nine, but she also had insecurities as well. Finding an empty seat near the wall at the far back, she sat down. 

            Lincoln State University was huge, by any standards, but Kay knew it like the back of her hand. She had originally come to LSU to study sciences, but became bored with it and decided to enter the social sciences instead. Namely, history, like the wars and revolutions, conflicts, and the like. 

            For ten minutes, students slowly trickled into the hall, and it began to fill. Then, the entrance nearest Kay produced a similarly aged man, who looked at his schedule a bit blankly. 

            "You look a bit lost," She speculated, still sitting calmly. "Need help?"

            The man turned to her, blinking once. "Um, this wouldn't by any chance be the American Wars seminar, would it?" He was incredibly tall, and very well-built, with dark, tan skin and even darker curly brown hair. His eyes were a very warm brown as well, and Kay felt some type of familiarity within them. 

            "That it is," Kay responded kindly, smirking, then pointing to an empty seat. "Want to join me? I'd rather have someone I remotely know sitting beside me as opposed to a complete stranger…"

            He seemed a bit confused. "Gladly…I'm Sam. Sam Greene. And you are?"

            "The name's Kay Matthews." At that, the man seemed utterly shocked, but quickly brushed it off. "Nice to meet you."

            "…Nice to meet you, too."

___

            Caitlin stepped into the biology lab quickly. She had slept in AGAIN, and didn't want to be late to one of her best classes. As she rushed in hurriedly, she walked smack into a youngish man, sending their books and papers every whichway.

            "Gah! Sorry, sorry!" She said as she stooped down and began gathering the books and papers from the ground before anyone would step on them. "I wasn't watching where I was going, really sorry about this."

            "It's alright," he said, chuckling, in an easygoing voice as he helped her. "I wasn't paying any more attention than you were." The girl brought her eyes up to him for a quick glance, and looked away instantly, her face burning with blush. His rust-red hair was crudely tied up in a bandana, and there was a trace of light, but trimmed hair on his chin. His eyes were a deep, almost navy, blue, and he stood a solid six inches over Caitlin. He might have been somewhere around 25, but Cait was far too shy to ask.

            Flustered, Caitlin nodded a little at his statement and continued to scoop her papers into her hands. That's when a shadow fell on them both. They turned, and a tall, somewhat decently built man was standing over them. He seemed around twenty-one, and had a very crooked grin on his face. His hair was a shocking orange-red, and his eyes were a shade of bright emerald that almost didn't seem human. "Well, nice job you did here, Red."

            The guy who was on the ground seemed unhappy and his eyes flashed a little dangerously. "It's Aaron. Don't call me that again, please."

            "Well fine," The redhead snorted, putting his hands on his hips, then looked at Caitlin. "Say, who's your friend now?"

            "The name's Caitlin Andrews."

            Aaron's eyes brightened with shock, but he cleared his throat and stood up, offering her his hand. "Well, Miss Andrews, I'm Aaron Redding. This, unfortunately, is my friend, Chris Stone." He motioned to the crazy-looking one.

            After the three had been introduced to one another, they entered the Biology Lab hurriedly, seconds before the bell rang. 

_______

            The American Wars seminar was still a good ten minutes away, and Kay couldn't help but glance over at Sam from time to time. She just couldn't help but think she knew him from somewhere…… Then, interrupting her thoughts, two new men came walking up, both of them that seemed to know Sam right off the bat. 

            One was around twenty-eight or so, with golden blonde hair, streaked with red and brown throughout. His eyes were a deep blue, and he was rather tall…though Sam still topped him by a few inches. 

            The other was much younger, around nineteen, and had light blue sunglasses sitting down low along the bridge of his nose. His hair was a chestnut brown, and his eyes were a baby blue that Kay had never seen before. "Hey! Sc-I mean Sam!" He greeted. "What's up?"

            "Nothing much…you here for this, too?" Sam retorted back. 

            The older one nodded. "Yes, then we're off for about ten minutes afterwards. We're going to meet up with all the others then, too." He then noticed Kay. "I see you've made a friend."

            "This is Kay…" Sam said a bit uncertainly, then, he motioned to his friends. "Kay, this is Orion Peterson," He motioned to the older one, then to the nineteen year old. "And Steven Evans."

            Kay nodded politely their way. "Nice to meet you both." 

            "Well, 'Rion, Steve, want to sit with us? Might as well, you know…" Sam suggested, pointing to the empty seats around the now four strong group. 

            Orion nodded, and he and Steven both chose seats adjacent to the other two seated. As they lounged around on the old, worn chairs, one more rather lost-looking man joined the group. He had black hair, with slate gray highlights, but he was far from appearing old. His eyes were a shade of brown that nearly appeared orange, and he seemed a tad aloof when it came to his surroundings.

            "Hm, who's that new guy?" She asked a little blankly. 

            Orion picked his head up and looked in the newcomer's direction. "Oh…that's Matt Newford. A friend of ours, but he needs his space." 

            "Ah. Well invite him over here and he can join us." Kay shrugged. "The more, the merrier, they say." Steve hailed Matt, and he came to join the other four a little reluctantly. "First year here, too?" Kay asked casually.

            "Um…yes," he said a little softly, a trace of an English accent in his voice. "I _am_ in the right place, correct?" Orion peered at his slightly rumpled schedule, and nodded. "Good…I'm not as hopeless as I thought."

            Then, the bell rang and the professor took his spot at the podium. 

TBC

___________________________________________________

DMK: HA! Cliffhanger! …sort of…anyway, if you can guess the Transformers (Autobot AND Decepticon) that appeared as a humans in this chapter (it MIGHT have things to do with their initials…most of them are the FIRST AND LAST letters of their respective names….some of them may be switched though…) To help you out, there were two Decepticons, and four Autobots that showed up. :D First person that guesses gets a cookie and an honorable mention. And one last note… The 'Bots and 'Cons are working together, I know. **THIS WILL BE EXPLAINED IN A LATER CHAPTER**. Please no flames because of the lack of explanation, you'll get it eventually. 


	2. Fun, More Friends, and an Amazing Secret

DMK: …random, spurr of the moment…impulsive. Yeah, that's this fic alright. ^_^;;; But it will get better once everyone knows everyone else and all… o.o;; um, yeah, and as for the six Transformers whom showed up in the last chapter…

Sam: _ _;; must you ruin the surprise?

DMK: It's blatantly obvious, Scavey.

Sam: Don't CALL ME THAT! 

Steven: HA!

Sam: *grumbling*

Steven: *tilts head like a puppy dog* …somebody needs a hug?

Sam: Oo; NONONO! NOT ME! *waves hands frantically in the air*

DMK: …amusing…we should get Matt, Orion, Chris, and Aaron in here, too… :D  *screams can be heard from outside the room* ^_^;; Well, while I'll try to get them to join us, you can read the second chapter of the fic! ONWARD WE GO!

Chapter Two

                Kay sat down after a lengthy but interesting lecture on the Civil War in the cafeteria, and was joined not long after by her cousin. "Hey! Caity! So how's the second semester treatin' ya?"

                Caitlin smirked a little, remembering the chaotic lab experiment she, Aaron, and his friend Chris had been responsible for. She almost started to laugh when the mental image of Chris' smoke-black face with his bright green eyes standing out like emeralds in coal surfaced in her mind. "Great, great. Met some nice guys, too…"

"Same here. There's this new guy in my Wars class, Sam Greene…he seems like someone I would have known a long time ago…And he's not bad to look at, either…" She giggled immaturely for a moment. 

                "Oh yeah?" Caitlin grinned at her cheesily. 

                "Yeah."

                "Funny…I got the same vibe from Aaron. Serious deja-vu…"

                "Who?"

                Caitlin turned a slight shade of red and hunched her shoulder slightly. "Aaron Redding. He's new in High Desert. So is his friend, Chris Stone."

                "Oooooh, is someone prowling for boys?"

                "N-No!" Caitlin exclaimed, blushing. "I am not-AHH!" Someone had run smack into her chair, sending her and her attacker into the tile. "..ow."

                "Nice move, Sideswipe," A blonde haired, blue-eyed guy around the age of 21 said dryly to the one who had knocked Caitlin down.

                She blinked. "'Sideswipe?'"

                The guy beside her stood up and helped her to her feet quickly. "Sorry about that, really sorry, I'm just living up to my nickname…Real name's Steve Evans."

                A bit numbly, Caitlin nodded towards him. "Hey. Name's-"

                Kay interrupted, still amused at this scene. "He knows you. I told him and the others about you, too."

                "Oh…" She looked beyond Steven, and saw a group, including both Chris and Aaron. But the nickname Sideswipe started to eat at her…could it be…?

                Snapping her out of these sudden thoughts, the one who had called Steven 'Sideswipe' stepped forward. He was tall, appearing to be 21, but wasn't thickly built, and had bright blue eyes, and his face was framed by sandy blonde hair. A pair of sunglasses was pushed up above his forehead, lifting his long bangs out of his eyes.

                "Sorry about my friend here," He said in a cocky voice. "He just rushes off sometimes. Oh, and I'm Tom Harrison, I heard about you and your cousin from Sam." Tom nodded over his shoulder to a tall strong-looking man, obviously the one Kay had mentioned. 

                "That's okay, but what's with the nickname?"

                Tom froze, and laughed a bit nervously. "Well uhh, um…"

                Caitlin raised an eyebrow, then looked at Steven curiously. "It's…got to do with my driving skills!" he blurted out quickly. "I…I uh, I ended up sideswiping another guy on the first day I got my license, five minutes into the drive…my friends have called me Sideswipe ever since."

                Both of Cait's eyebrows went up at the story he had fabricated, but let it slide. There was no way the Transformers could have become human…right? "Oh. That sucks." Then, she noticed the rest of the group. Chris still had a bit of soot on his cheekbones, but aside from that, his face was relatively clean. "So Kay, you gonna introduce me to the rest of your buddies or what?"

                "Oh, right…" She said a bit sheepishly. "Well, you've obviously met Steve and Sam, and this is Orion and Matt." She motioned to the other two. "Can't say I know the rest of your buddies, though…"

                "Ah," Orion said a bit distantly. "Well then I suppose I should introduce them, too." He motioned to one of the moderately built men in the small group. His hair was a light shade of blonde that almost seemed white, with accents of gold at the tips. His eyes seemed a slate gray, but had faint traces of blue within. From Caitlin's speculation, he looked about the same age as Tom, 21. "This is Brandon Silver-"

                "A bit of an enigma but he's alright for being almost mute." Another redhead chipped in. 

                "That would be Jason…" Brandon muttered in his quiet voice. Looking up at the tall, 25-year old that was Jason, Cait again felt a tinge of deja-vu. He had bright red hair, streaked with blonde, tied up in a red and gold bandana. He towered over Orion, but still didn't reach the height of Sam. On his face was a crooked grin, similar to that of Tom's.

                "Well, nice to meet you, Jase," Kay said in a nearly identical cocky voice, at which Jason's face appeared disgruntled.

                "God forbid you call them that," Another man started. "His name is just plain Jason…Even if it IS funny to see the look on his face…"

                Caitlin looked his way. "And who might you be?"

                "Oh…eh…the name's Sean…" He said less confidently. Upon first glance, he seemed to be nothing more than a stout, extremely muscular man, but his cornflower blue eyes glistened with a wiseness and kindness that seemed out of character. His hair was a soft brown, cut rather short as well. Guessing, Caitlin thought him to be around the age of 26 or so.

                "Well, nice to meet you, Sean," she said, extending her hand out to him. Expecting a rough, hard handshake, she was surprised with his gentle grip. She was about to strike up a conversation when another young man around Tom and Brandon's age came running up.

                "Sorry I'm late…" he panted. "I got turned around, and I lost Demoli-I mean Dan…and uh… Scott…I was in the Math wing with them."

                "It's a closed campus…they can't be THAT lost," Chris said confidently. "Scott'll be able to find his way around." He then looked to the two cousins. "This is Jack. Jack, meet our new friends, Caitlin and Kay."

                Jack smiled, even if he was a bit winded, and greeted them with a simple, "Hey." He was Tom's size and stature, and age as well, but had a slightly heavier build. His eyes were a dark teal with specks of gold throughout, and his hair was gold, with black, dyed tips. Then, after exchanging handshakes, he looked to Orion and Matt. "So, should we go look for Dan and Scott?"

                "They'll be fine," Orion said quietly, trailing off slightly. "Now…what DO you do between classes…?"

                Kay gave him a skeptical glance. "What-you've never been to college before?"

                "Um…well…it was different than this school…" He stuttered.

                "Right…well, you just hang around in the cafeteria or the plaza until the next bell rings…depending on the day, it's anywhere from ten minutes to half an hour."

                "I see…and today…?"

                "Well, we have about fifteen minutes left before the bell rings. Best thing to do is to grab a seat and shoot the breeze."

                Agreeing, everyone took seats and began to compare schedules. And, within a few minutes, Caitlin had struck up a conversation with Aaron.  "So, what do you have next?" He asked her albeit quietly. 

                "Me? …Anatomy and Physiology…you?"

                "Same." He then jerked his thumb over to Chris, who was busy toying with his still-singed bangs. "So does he…but I think he's going to keep away from us when it involves any sort of science…"

                Cait giggled. "But lord, that was funny…"

                Steve's head popped up from studying his schedule. "What happened there?"

                "Don't. Say it." Chris mumbled, grabbing his bangs with his fist in dejection.

                "He nearly blew himself up in BioChem lab today," The two said in unison.

FLASHBACK TO BIOCHEMISTRY LAB…

_                Chris looked at a bottle of clear, seemingly normal liquid, peering at it boredly. Meanwhile, Caitlin and Aaron were combining a careful concoction, step by careful step. "Hey, lemme add this in!" he chirped in an almost giddy tone, lunging forward quickly._

_                Aaron blinked, and tried to grab him. "Chris! Not the Nitro-Glycerin!"_

_                BOOM!_

_                As the gray smoke cleared, Chris' face and chest were a soot-black, his green eyes shimmering like Emeralds in coal. Aaron was dusty, a light amount of dirt collecting on his bandana and shoulders. "Ow."_

_                The rest of the students erupted into laughter, and the group was made to clean up the mess, both in their lab station, and on Chris. All of which, proved to be amusing._

                Tom and Jason howled with laughter, slapping their knees and trying to contain themselves as best they could. Even Sam and Brandon couldn't help but join in at the hilarious story both Caitlin and Aaron retold to them. Matt's shoulders shook silently, while Orion and Sean both had highly amused grins on their faces.

                "Good god! How many points did you get dinged for that maneuver?!" Steve managed while trying to calm himself down.

                "He didn't lose any-it's his first day…" Caitlin defended weakly from the giggling fit she had been sent into. "But he'd better not try it again…"

                "Bah…well how much time do we have?" Chris muttered lowly as he hunched over, clearly sore from the laugh his friends got from his ordeal.

                "It should be going off…any time now." Kay responded.

                As if on cue, the bell rang, and they all parted ways as they headed to their next classes.

_____

                Later that night, as dusk was just falling, Caitlin sat by herself in the crisp autumn air, enjoying the brilliant colors of the Maple trees. Setting her books down beside her, she let a tiny, chilling breeze rustle her bangs. She began thinking about the day, and how well she seemed to make so many friends…she usually just kept one or two very close, while the rest were just acquaintances. But Aaron, Chris…even Steve, they had become close-knit over the course of only a day, like they had known each other for years…Even if Chris had random instances of insanity…

She sighed contentedly and looked at the wispy clouds that were turning bright orange, and watched the trees rustle in another soft gust of wind.  On that breeze, came the sounds of a heated conversation…and she could instantly identify the voices of her new friends, Sam, Chris, Aaron, and Steve. Rising quietly, she followed the conversation to a small grove of trees on the campus, where the four were seated facing each other.

                "Aw come on Red! We should tell them! They're our friends, anyways!" Steve started hotly.

                "No. We can't."

                "But why? I hate keeping all this stuff a secret…" He mumbled dejectedly.

                _'What…are they talking about…?'_ The 21-year-old wondered to herself_. 'What does Aaron want to be kept a secret…?'_

                "Sideswipe, listen, if our cover were to be blown, who KNOWS who could find out? If Thrust and Sideways were to catch wind of it…" Sam began.

                "…They'd slag us all." Chris finished flatly. "Great…but those human friends of yours could keep it underwraps, right? It's not like they'd go squeal to them if they knew…"

                "It's not that easy, Cyclonus…" Aaron began. "Things…are a bit more complicated than you think…Scavenger can testify to that…"

Sam nodded quietly, and Chris interrupted again. "RedAlert, you know full well that you can't get attached to any human, right? I mean come on…one of these days that gas'll wear off and we'll be our great, wonderful, metal selves again…"

                _'My Lord…no wonder I felt like I knew them! They…they're…the Transformers! But how?! Why didn't they say anything?!'_ Caitlin's heart had risen in her throat from the surprise.

                "True…but you wouldn't understand. You're a Decepticon, anyways…" Sam interrupted, then tilted his head. "We're not alone," he said in a hushed and terse tone. 

                Their heads snapped up quickly, their eyes searching around the loose stand of trees for their eavesdropper in the fading light. Cait hid behind the nearest oak tree, but she saw Aaron's gaze fall upon her shadowed form. "There!" They rose to 'greet' her, but that was enough.

                She gasped, took a shaky step backwards, and ran.

_____

                Caitlin burst into Kay's dorm room five minutes later, panting heavily, looking shaken. "Kay!! KAY! YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS!"

                Her cousin shot up in her beanbag chair at the disturbance. "What?!"

                "Sam…Aaron…Chris…Steve…not…human…"

                Kay's eyebrows shot up. "What the FRAG do you mean?"

                "They're the Transformers!"

TBC

DMK: Okay…this REALLY REALLY REALLY made no sense…but on a good note… yay! The ballots are in! I had two reviewers who got it all right: Smackblade, and Navi-Zero!!! Congrats to you all! Oh, and for those of you who guessed, at least you tried, and kudos to that. Just to clear things up, I'll give you a rundown of who's who so far-

Sam: No need. They know who I am. And Steve, too.

Steve: T___T;; I shouldn't have asked about the hugs…

DMK: ANYWAY…the chapter took a turn I didn't know it would take, so you already know the names of most of the first five…If you HONESTLY needed to know, Orion is Optimus, and Matt is Megs… There. Me done. :D And the other newcomers are pretty obvious, too. But yay to the people who guessed them right!!! 

Sean: Hey…what about me????

Jason: Yeah, and me? 

Tom, Brandon, and Jack: Ditto!?

DMK: It's blatantly obvious…and the readers are smart enough to figure it out… But here's a hint…Demolisher and Starscream have yet to show up… :D Now, I must leave! Ciao!


	3. Conversations and New Ladyfriends

DMK: …wow, that chapter was odd…very odd…so, to clarify things and drive you even further into insanity, I decided to do a quick update-post…   
Dan: …they're going to hate you, you know…

Scott: *nodnod* 

DMK: they all know it'll be straightened out… AFTER Jetfire and Cyclonus make lady-friends…

Jason and Chris: O_O;;; NOOOOOOOOO!

DMK: Aw, come on! It'll be good for you!

Jason and Chris: *sigh dejectedly and agree*

DMK: there we go. Now, ONWARD!

_____________________________________________________________________________

Chapter Three

            "First off, Caitlin, settle down, second, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN?!"

            Caitlin sat down on Kay's bed quickly, then sighed heavily. "Sam, Chris, Aaron, and Steve AREN'T who you think they are…they're the Transformers…as humans…"

            "Right…"

            "Wasn't it odd that you felt like you knew Sam? It's because he's SCAVENGER…"

            Kay about fell back into her beanbag chair at this. "So you're saying…the guy I met today that I happen to be attracted to…is my former Autobot CRUSH?!"

            Caitlin stared. "You had a crush on him?"

            Her cousin stood up straight. "You didn't hear me say that."

            "Oooookay…"

            "I wouldn't talk…you were so obviously infatuated by Mr. Miracle Medic…" She grumbled.

            "I was NOT…he and I are just good friends…But that's beside the point…CYCLONUS was there too…"

            Kay raised an eyebrow. "I don't get it…wasn't he a 'Con?"

            "Yes…but he was obviously hanging out with them…come to think of it…they were acting rather civil…"

            "What would cause the Autobots and Decepticons to work together like that? I thought they were at each others' throats…"

            "Well…I heard Sam…er, Scavenger, mention something about Thrust and Sideways trying to kill them if they found out they were humans…"

            "Conehead and Horn-head? Why?"

            "I don't know…but I'm going to ask them when I see them next…"

            Kay crossed her arms and looked at her younger cousin seriously. "Look, if they were keeping this a secret, I THINK they'd have a good reason…Just treat them like they were normal human beings until they say something first…"

            Caitlin ran a hand through her hair in anxiety. "Knowing this, I might not be able to…"

            "Well you have to."

            Sighing, she gave in. "Alright…wait…do you think…that the rest of them might be…?"

            Kay smirked. "Wouldn't surprise me. Matt DID remind me of Megatron…"

            "Good God, if that was the case… I would have been joking around with Megatron today…and Cyclonus practically blew himself up in my Bio Class…" She stared forward, shocked. "Wow…"

            "Hey, at least Megs isn't trying to kill anybody…But I SERIOUSLY want to know what's going on…"

            "See? Then I should ask them."

            "No. We just…can't…When they're ready to tell us, they'll tell us. Until then, keep this between us."

_____

            Over the next few days, Caitlin kept quiet, even though she wanted to bring it up and be truly reunited with her friends, but didn't. She went on, acting as if she knew nothing, even though it nagged at her incessantly. Winter began to set in, as temperatures plummeted, and the snow began to fall.

            A few days later, Chris sat in the Biochemistry lab, beside Aaron, when he noticed Caitlin walk in rather timidly. "Hey, what's wrong with Cait? She looks different…"

            The Transformer-turned-human watched her curiously, but didn't say anything until she took her seat beside him. "Well, you look considerably off this morning…"

            "…I uh…didn't sleep well last night, I guess." She mumbled nonchalantly. RedAlert peered at her with concern.

            "Are you sure…?"

            "Pretty much…I got things on my mind…"

            Aaron tilted his head. "Like…?"

            'The fact that you're lying about who you really are…' She looked around the room for a good excuse, and found one upon the bulletin board. "…An upcoming dance…" Cait mumbled. "Thinkin' about asking someone, but I don't usually do dances…"

            He smirked. "Really now…"

            Caitlin pretended to not notice the look in his eyes, and opened her notebook to a blank sheet. "Yeah…but like I said, that sort of stuff just doesn't seem to fit me…"

            Meanwhile, the professor began to start the lesson by turning off the lights and displaying notes on an overhead projector, which the class began to copy down instantly. "Well, perhaps if you give it a try…" Aaron said quietly.

            "Dunno. I thought I knew this guy, but turns out he's got a whole different side to him…So I'm not sure if I want to ask him or not…" With the tone in her voice, her new friend tilted his head thoughtfully. "And I want to talk to him about it…but I can't…"

            Aaron's eyes narrowed, but the searching and curious glint was still present. As he copied down the chemical formulas from the overhead, he looked back at Caitlin once in a while, and even managed to whisper to Chris, who had overheard. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking…?"

            "…That she's the one that overheard…?"

            "…Yes…"

            "Well…I s'pose it's better that she knows than a complete stranger…right?"

            Red nodded, then leaned over to Caitlin. "You mind telling me just how much of our conversation you heard last week?"

            Her head snapped up and she looked at him with surprised eyes. "I thought you weren't going to tell anyone."

            "Well…obviously…it affected you…I'd much rather straighten things out than have you in such a bad mood…"

            She smiled. "I wasn't in a bad mood, I was just plagued by intense inner conflict, confused by the information I had gathered, wondering constantly about your situation, you know, the normal…"

            He chuckled. "And I suppose I have to fill in the holes, correct?"

            "It would be nice, but break isn't until second period…" 

            "Alright then, it's a date. Er, I mean…"

            "I understand…" She winked. "Oh…and can I call you by your REAL names after this…?"

            Grinning, he and Cyclonus exchanged glances and nodded. "By all means."

_____

            Reclining in her favorite seat in the Art hall, Kay shut her eyes and meditated on the revelation she was presented with a week ago. 'Naw…Sam really couldn't be Scavenger…at least…I think not…"

            "Mind if I sit here?" A very familiar voice cut through her thoughts. Looking up, she found herself looking right into Sam's deep brown eyes.

            "Um…uh…not at all…feel free," She said a bit shakily, regaining her composure quickly. 

            He sat down, and took note of Kay's uncertain attitude. "Everything alright?"

            "Oh yeah, yeah, fine…"

            He looked at her searchingly, then his eyes glittered with curiosity and interest. "Why aren't you convincing me…?"

            "Because I'm rather confused at the moment." She said as she began sketching the still-life image on the table in the center of the Art studio.  

            "You talked to your cousin, didn't you?"

            Kay's head snapped up. "Come again?"

            He grinned, having gotten the reaction he wanted. "I believe she overheard a conversation my friends and I were having…naturally she'd come to you…"

            "Well as a matter of fact, _Scavenger_, she did." Despite the harshness of her voice, her eyes were smiling, and a slightly crooked grin was on her face. "But there's still a ton I don't know. You ARE explaining this to me after second period."

            His eyes glistened with contentedness. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

_____

            First period came and went, and the group of RedAlert, Cyclonus, and Caitlin split up as they headed to their second classes.

            Chris walked along, heading to a metalworking class (something even a Transformer might need in the future) in the Arts wing, when he noticed a small, quiet-looking girl ahead of him drop a book. She didn't seem to notice, and kept on walking. Taking to power-steps forward, he bent down in mid-stride and grabbed the small novella, and followed her through the crowd. 

            He growled, as he didn't seem to be able to catch up fast enough. Boy, how he wanted to Transform and fly over these humans' heads, but he was stuck hoofing it. The Decepticon human glanced at the schedule crudely taped to his notebook, making sure that he hadn't passed room 211 yet, and continued his pursuit of the book's owner. Sidestepping several people, Cyclonus had almost reached the girl, when she veered into a room. He stopped abruptly, and looked at the number. It was 211. 

            He stepped in, and looked around. The room wasn't small and well-kept like his math or science class…it was a large, wide space with various tools sitting on wooden benches, many of which were speckled with paint and silver solder. Chairs were spaced apart, not in even rows, but all generally faced the front of the room. There weren't too many people in the room, so he could easily pick out the girl he had been pursuing. As he strode over to her, the bell rang, and Cyclonus was forced to take the first available seat. He would have to finish his job later.

            The class began as the professor began to casually run down the basics of metalworking, all of which, Chris knew like the back of his hand. Then again, it wasn't a surprise why. After about half an hour of solid instruction, the teacher let the class loose, as they headed to drawing tables to plan a small-scale project, either alone, or in partners.

            Cyclonus stood up, and noticed the short, small, very shy looking girl. She remained at her seat, using a binder to support the white paper she was drawing her sculpture on. He thought about stepping forward, but felt his face flush, and he hesitated. Eventually, though, he walked towards her, the book "Night" in hand. 

            "You uh…need a partner to work with…?" he asked in an oddly timid voice.

            The young woman's head snapped up, and her fair-skinned cheeks instantly turned a rosy red. "I…um…suppose…I could…"

            Crookedly grinning, Cyclonus held out the novella to her. "Oh, uh here…You dropped this in the hallway…"

            Her eyes lit up with surprise, and she reached out timidly to take one corner of the book. "I thought I lost this! …Thank you…"

            He put a hand behind his head sheepishly. "Aw…it was nothing…by the way, I'm Chris…what's your name?"

            The girl's face turned reddish again, and she broke her wavering eye contact with him. "I'm…Selena…"

            Cyclonus smiled, tilting his head at the name. Sure, he was a lunatic when fighting, but the sudden change he had gone through must have toned down that side of him…possibly. "Nice to meet you, Selena." He let the name roll off his tongue, enjoying the sound. "You have a pretty name…"

            She blushed all the more, and looked back at her sketch she had barely started. "You're…the first guy to say that…"

            He raised an eyebrow, confused about human customs. "Is that…bad…?"

            "Oh no, no, no…just surprised, that's all." She started to sketch out the small sculpture's design hurriedly, as if trying to hide her bright red cheeks. 

            "Okay…" He leaned over, watching her small and slender hand work across the paper. Pencil stroke by pencil stroke, a smooth, abstract shape began to present itself. "Wow…I could never draw that good…"

            Selena again blushed, shy from the comment. "Well…it's…just a talent…I guess…nothing much…"

            "Nothing…?" He tilted his head, confused. Humans were just SO complicated…he would probably never understand them… "If you say so…"

            The dark-haired girl looked at him again a bit oddly. His naivety was strange…men these days just didn't seem to be like that. "…So…are you new around here…? I haven't seen you in High Desert before…"

            He nodded, still watching her sketch out the design. "Um…yeah…and you…?"

            "I've been here my whole life…I just don't get noticed because I'm so quiet…"

            "Well you should put yourself out there! Be noticed!" He said, his strong personality rising again. Selena blinked, and watched him for a minute. "Plus, you could make a ton of friends that way!"

            She looked back to her drawing, averting her gaze once more. "…Well, one or two good friends are all you really need…Caitlin's practically my sister…"

            "Y'mean you know her?"

            "Yeah! She's a good friend of mine, I mean…"

            He grinned. "Well same here. Guess we got somethin' in common…"

            Selena blushed again. "…I guess so…"

_____

            Jason lounged around in his rather boring study hall class, eyeing a reddish-haired girl who was sitting three seats ahead of him. But, then, his mind wandered to what Sam had told him a week ago…that someone had overheard a conversation that should have been private. _'I just hope we don't get our cover blown_,' he thought. _'Last thing I want the guys back on Cybertron to believe is that the great Autobot vice commander got slagged as a human…'_

            Opening his math notebook, Jason tried to focus on his assignment, but quickly shut it, put his feet back up on his desk, leaned back, and continued to daydream. _'Aw, come on Jetfire, you gotta stay positive!'_ he told himself with resolve. _'If I don't think it'll happen, it won't….or something like that. If we're lucky, Caitlin heard or something…'_

            He didn't know how right he was. 

TBC

_______________________________________________________________________

DMK: …well…that was even worse than the second chapter, guessing from the silence of my typically loyal reviewers… T___T Okay, if it's that bad, tell me nicely, but at least gimme SOME kind of feedback so I at least know…

Hotshot: Aw shaddap. This crap happens, now get over it.

DMK: *moping* …well…if you're enjoying it…tell me…because with the lack of reviewers I'm about to take this thing off and go back to working on SFAPTB…


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